Final Face Off: Part 1
by Writing Fairy
Summary: Can Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley find all of the Horcrux before anyone else gets hurt or will Voldemort make that impossible? Some journey's just never seem to end...takes place after sixth book. R&R please! P1 FINISHED!
1. Chapter 1, A Happy Celebration

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER, NOR WILL I EVER.**

_(Hello! I hope you like this story! Please review! -Writing Fairy- Oh, and please visit my website listed on my profile. For some reason it won't let me put it up here but whatever.**)(Thanks!)**_

**A Happy Celebration**

Harry Potter tossed and turned for the fifth night in a row. He hadn't gotten a good nights rest since before Professor Dumbledore had died and he didn't think it was because he felt insecure, which he did, but it was something else. He kept having the strangest dream of the same girl every night. She had pale white skin and piercing green eyes and a thick mane of dark brownish auburn hair. She wore a lot of many colored necklaces and bracelets and was obviously a muggle. Or she looked that way, but for some reason she didn't seem like one. She had an air to her that seemed powerful and magic, she also looked familiar. Not familiar enough for Harry to know her name but he was sure he had seen her somewhere. He just didn't know quite where. It was as if the dream was trying to tell him something. _One eighty seven Broker Street. _It flew through his head like an annoying fly buzzing in his ear.

Harry woke drenched in sweat, fevered thoughts running through his mind as he surveyed his room. Hedwig's cage sat vacant upon the dresser on the far side, a wind whipping through the window she had left in and would return through by dawn. Harry looked around at the walls all plastered in Chudley Cannon posters that made you feel like you had just walked into an inferno to his trunk that lay at the foot of his bed, littered with quills, school books, spare parchment, the marauder's map one such, ink bottles, and broken glass he had never bothered to remove. His firebolt stood perched up against the wall where he had left it the day before after a rousing game of quidditch with Ron, Fred, George, Bill, Charlie, and Ginny. Hermione had elected to sit on the side reading but they were one person short of playing four on four so after a few minutes of begging she gave in.

It was extremely awkward to be around Ginny again. He still had strong feelings for her, and there were times when he nearly forgot that they weren't seeing each other anymore. He was sure there were times for her just like it too because sometimes he saw her gazing at him, unabashed when Harry caught her doing so. Somehow Fred and George had found out that they had been going out though and were constantly nagging Harry (and he had a nasty suspicion they were doing the same to Ginny) why they still weren't and who broke up with who and why. Harry conveniently went deaf when they did this. Harry smiled slightly remembering when, on his way back to Ron's room, where he Ron and Hermione had been talking, He had run into Ginny and they both stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before Ginny had reaching up and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Ginny…" He reminded softly, quelling the urge to hold her.

"I know." She replied quietly, stood there for a second as if waiting for him to do something then walked away when he just stood there. Harry had sat down next to Hermione on his bed and let her and Ron battle out whatever they were bickering about, and only when they had stopped fighting did they realize he was considerably quieter than he had been before he had gone to the bathroom. As these thoughts plagued his mind he had fallen into a doze.

A picture of the pale girl, this time holding a wooden box emblazoned with the letter "R" on it in gold shot through his mind so fast he woke out of his half-awake-half-asleep state.

Harry reached up and traced the scar on his forehead, trying to figure out, yet again, if he was seeing things through Voldemort's eyes, it had happened before. There was no pain though. None at all, and that led him to believe that it was something else. The scar was unusual, not only for it's lightning bolt shape, but also because of the fact that it was the reminiscence of his first encounter with the Lord Voldemort. The killing curse had been meant to kill him, but instead left him with just a scar and some amazing talents, one such being a Parselmouth, or the ability to speak to snakes. But it also left Voldemort weak, and barely alive. Harry couldn't help but wish sometimes that he was as blissfully ignorant of all this as he was before he had come to Hogwarts.

He felt his pocket which now always contained his father's old invisibility cloak. He had come to treasure it not only for its usefulness, but also for the connection it had to his father, James Potter. Harry still didn't know what he thought about the memory he saw in Snape's pensieve, when James and Sirius had terrorized _Snivellus _just because Sirius had said he was bored, but he had come to the conclusion that everyone had times when they did stupid things (he knew this first hand) and he had obviously witnessed his father's even if he hadn't liked what he saw. Plus he was less pitiable to Snape than he once was. Now he felt ridiculous for _ever _feeling bad for that evil, greasy haired murderer. Lily Evans back then had obviously thought of his father and Sirius as "arrogant little berks" as Sirius so affectionately put it. She was completely in her right to say so though, ofcourse, Lily Evans eventually became Lily Potter.

Now Sirius Black was another story all together. He had spent thirteen years in Azkaban, the wizard prison, for a crime he never committed: the killing of twelve muggles and Peter Pettigrew. Startling evidence that Harry could not ignore though, showed that it had been Peter Pettigrew who had betrayed his parents, getting them killed by Voldemort, then killing twelve muggles and cutting off his own finger and transforming into a rat as an unregistered animagus (but then again, James and Sirius had been unregistered animagus too, along with Remus Lupin who was a werewolf), to make an everlasting escape. It had only been in Harry's third year at Hogwarts that he had found out that Sirius was his godfather. It was still hard thinking about Sirius… after…his death. It was just hard to believe he was really gone. Forever. Sirius had been Harry's last visible connection to his parents but now he was gone and he only had a tattered old cloak and nothing more to cling to the parents he barely knew and a broken mirror at the bottom of his trunk to remember the godfather he had just begun to know. The mirror had turned out to be useless after Sirius had disappeared and he still felt immeasurable remorse for not remembering the mirror before rashly heading off to Sirius' demise and by his own _family _none the less! If he had just learned occlumency…like he was _supposed _to… Harry thought angrily, but deflated after a while, feeling the sadness of Dumbledore's death cursing through him again.

Harry couldn't help but blame himself for all the deaths he had just counted off, one by one. _He _was born at "the waning of the seventh month", and it was _him_ who Voldemort was after, and _he _who stupidly went to the ministry on a whim, and it was _him _who was supposed to destroy Voldemort... It washed over him all at once, his head spinning. James Potter, Lily Potter, Sirius Black, Dumbledore….Harry even went as far as saying Quirrell's death was his fault too. The guilt was immense, so immense that he could barely stand it. So he stood up and walked to the bathroom intending to splash his face with cold water, to try and wash away the pain racking through his body. And he hadn't gotten to all the times he had encountered Voldemort and _failed _to kill him or even to Cedric Diggory… wasn't it _Harry _the one who said they should grab the Triwizard cup together?… where the hell was this guilt trip coming from? It was Bill's wedding! But an anger burned in him now, fearing to swallow him whole. He walked up and down the winding stairs of the Weasley house in an attempt to just forget for a little while. He finally made it to the bathroom and splashed water onto his gaunt, pale face. He was surprised at how much of an Azkaban convict he looked like at the moment. How much he looked like Sirius.

_**(Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this! Visit my website if you can! WF)**_


	2. Chapter 2, The Mystery That Is Sage

_(Hello again! I know that the first chapter was a freaky amount of boring, but ya gotta put the necessities in, ya know? Here's to the twist! Cheers! -Writing Fairy-)_

**The Mystery That Is Sage Ravenclaw**

"Harry?" A girl's voice asked, jolting him out of his reverie. Harry looked up at Hermione who was looking at him with a worried expression on her intelligent face. Her bushy brown hair was as untamable as ever, looking slightly tousled at the moment, possibly from sleep or maybe because it was around two thirty in the morning. With a sudden jolt he remembered the dream he had been having what felt like ages ago but was really only minutes. For some reason Hermione reminded him of this. He grabbed a towel and dried his face, looking at her with a rather strained expression.

"Oh. Hey Hermione." Harry responded, "What are you doing up this early?" He asked even though he knew perfectly well why she was up into the early hours of the dawn.

"Reading." She said simply. Hermione had spent every waking hour, and many she should be sleeping during, reading. Reading about every counter curse, jinx, hex, curse, and everything she could possibly get her hands on. Which Harry felt at least partially responsible for considering it was he who she was working so hard for… the stuff he should be doing but his heart just wasn't in it. Lately he had been rather moody, being angry and sadistic one day, haughty and sarcastic another, and yet he still had days to be sad and depressed.

"Don't you ever get tired of reading?" Harry intervened yawning.

Hermione ignored him though, saying, "You already knew that though. Why are you up this early?"

"No reason." Harry said trying to sound nonchalant but Hermione was too keen to his emotions of late to not realize he was nonplussed.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say it was that dream you've been having." Hermione said sounding extremely serious, "We should really think about trying to figure out who she is."

"Or maybe I should just forget about it." Harry countered. He felt no inclination to listen to anymore dreams. They hadn't done anything good for him so far so why pay attention anymore? They'd only brought him more pain and suffering than he had already endured. He continued down the hall, Hermione following in his wake.

"But Harry! I think this one is different!" She tried then, hitting gold, (again) she said, "She may have a Horcrux. That may be why you're having this dream."

Harry grudgingly admitted that might be true (Hermione gave him the see-it-wasn't-so-hard-to-admit look, the same one she had given him every time she brought this up) and added reluctantly, "One eighty seven Broker Street."

"What! You've had more of the dream?" Hermione practically shouted and Harry clamped a hand over her mouth saying, "Just because we're up doesn't mean it's not still two thirty in the morning."

"Right. Sorry." Hermione whispered back as soon as his hand left her mouth, "So you had another portion of the dream?"

"Just that." Harry responded softly.

"Well it's obviously where this girl lives." Hermione prodded, trying to figure out if he thought so while making it sound like a fact.

"Maybe." Harry allowed then said shortly, "I think her name's Sage. Odd name…" When Hermione gave him an awestruck look he added hastily, "Just a feeling."

"I wonder if maybe-"

"No Hermione! No wondering! No thinking! I'm not following through with this one!" Harry cut in walking off, but Hermione continued to follow him badgering him until he stopped just inside of his room and said loudly, "Goodnight Hermione!"

"But Harry! You should really think about-" SLAM!

"Fine!" He heard Hermione stomp haughtily down the hall. Even though Hermione had walked away and had stopped badgering him he heard her voice in his head, nagging him to think about it. What if she's right? Ran through his head over and over. His mind wandered to R.A.B. He couldn't help but wonder who that was. And soon, before he new it, he was back to his old mantra:

_the locket…the cup…the snake…something of Gryffindor's or Ravenclaw's_

_…the locket…the cup…the snake…something of Gryffindor's or Ravenclaw's_

Harry awoke to the ruffling of pages and Hedwig re-entering the room. He looked over at Ron and amazingly he was still asleep.

"Hermione!" Harry hissed at the girl sitting in the corner of the room, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, good. You're awake." Hermione said happily, "Have any more dreams?"  
"Hermione!" Harry said exasperated, "I told you. I'm not following through with this one. From now on I don't care if my dreams indicate that the sky's going to turn purple and frog guts will rain down from it, it's staying in my over-imaginative mind, _where it belongs._" He told her putting emphasis on the last three words.

"Well." Hermione said with something like contempt in her voice, "That's exactly what I thought you would say so I took the liberty of doing something about it myself." She brandished the book in his face, _Sage Ravenclaw _flashed past in gold letters. "When you said you thought her name was Sage last night I decided to do a bit of research on possible candidates. You had told me before that she had been holding a box with an "R" on it. My first thought was of a family crest. And I was right. When you said her address last night that left only one definite answer. Sage Ravenclaw. She lives at 187 Broker Street."

_"_How would you know about Sage? She's one girl in our school and in Ravenclaw!" Harry asked rather irritably. He was in no mood to fight with Hermione on this subject today. It was Bill's wedding! Couldn't he just have one day without Hermione badgering him?

"I said her last _name _was Ravenclaw. I never said she was _in _Ravenclaw." Hermione corrected him, "Sage was actually in Gryffindor, much to the disgust of her family. She was brilliant and got an innumerable amount of O.W.L.'s and N.E.W.T.'s. Sage actually _skipped _a year at Hogwarts. After the first three weeks had gone by in her first year her talent was undeniable and she was moved into a second year curriculum." Hermione informed him matter-of-fact. Harry couldn't help but notice that Hermione apparently idolized Sage Ravenclaw.

"What does she do now? Is she an Unspeakable?" Harry asked rubbing his temples. It was way too early for this.

"No. She's an Auror. And one of the best."

Harry was absolutely speechless.

"Hermione…" was all he managed to say. She was always going out of her way for him no matter what it meant or the time it was likely to consume.

"See?" Hermione declared "Something of Ravenclaw's, obviously that box is definitely a Horcrux!"

Ron stirred and mumbled, "Whateruguysdoin?"

"What a Neanderthal." Hermione said rolling her eyes

"Bloody hell." Ron exclaimed after Hermione had explained the Sage Ravenclaw situation the best she could. Which, knowing Hermione, is pretty well.

"We have to find her then." Ron agreed, one of the moments when he was completely serious.

"What if this was sent by Voldemort?" Harry cut in, looking at Ron, pleading with his eyes for his best friend to agree with him.

"But you said that your scar wasn't hurting." Hermione countered, eyeing the lightning shaped scar.

"Its not-" Harry began impatiently.

"Then I'm with Hermione on this one, mate." Ron said immediately.

"Thanks Ronald." Hermione glowed.

"Yeah, thanks _Ronald_." Harry grumbled under his breathe.

_( Thanks for reading! Visit my website! Send reviews! Plz and Thank you! WF)_


	3. Chapter 3, Without Further Ado

**_(A/N: I am terribly sorry for not updating sooner. The world was just against me, I swear. Microsoft Word issues and internet issues and writer's block issues and time issues and sibling issues and parental issues and I could go on forever so I'm just gonna stop before I rant any more...but hey, here's a new chapter! Enjoy! And thanks to all my readers of which there are three (maybe four)! You know who you are! Luv to you all and dirdle sucks like a milkshake! Sincerely yours, -Writing Fairy-) (p.s. Feel the burn from the flame within and make Paul and George and Louis proud!) (Snicker, snicker.) (By the way S, Quantum is the _quantity_ of something. Fits. Kinda.)_**

**Chapter 3, Without Further Ado**

Harry, Ron, and Hermione spent a bit of time quibbling over Sage Ravenclaw in continually loudening voices until grudgingly heading down for breakfast. They all knew how Mrs. Weasley felt about breakfast. The tables were set up outside because of Bill's wedding, and beyond that there were just too many people arriving to fit inside. Harry, Ron, and Hermione ate their breakfast quietly, avoiding talking to one another, or joining in on the celebratory mood whizzing around the table like an overzealous snitch. But Harry couldn't think of a snitch he despised more at the moment. Hermione and Ron glared at Harry, while Harry stared studiously at his plate, avoiding their gazes at all costs. He sat there fiddling with his fork and knife; as hungry as he had been when he had woken up he was now just as full. He chopped up his sausage, mutilated his eggs, and smashed his potatoes into a pulp until nothing on his plate was discernible from the other.

Did he really want to go see this 'Sage Ravenclaw'? Just how safe was she? His dreams had forsaken him before, many times, so how was he supposed to trust this one? His dreams were the reason Sirius...Sirius was dead. What more proof did he need that he should ignore them? But then again...what if she had a Horcrux? Wasn't it his destiny to destroy Lord Voldemort? And to do that he needed all the Horcruxes. Professor Dumbledore...he didn't die in vain. He wasn't going to...but he didn't want to...what if someone got hurt again?...he'd never be able to live with himself. There were just too many things running through his mind, he couldn't even think straight he was so conflicted. Finally he decided, at least for Bill's wedding, he was going to completely forget everything. Harry was just about to look up, force himself to smile, and congratulate Bill and Fleur when he realized everyone was quiet. And looking at him. Apparently that was going to be rather hard...

"You okay there Harry?" Tonks asked, her hair once again her signature pink. Everybody knew why, it was just really sweet, what that pink hair signified. Lupin had finally been overruled by everyone as they gradually saw Tonks sink deeper and deeper into depression, that if they had _feelings_ for each other, Lupin being a werewolf shouldn't come between them. It was a great day in the Weasley house when Lupin finally kissed Tonks. It was so sweet.

"What?" Harry asked stupidly, ya know, the way you do when you've heard the question but it caught you so off guard you just say 'What?', "Sorry, if I knew I was the center of attention I would've done something interesting." He joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Lupin asked him firmly.

Everyone's eyes went from Harry to Ron to Hermione, all who remained quiet.

"Nothing." Hermione finally managed.

"Why were you arguing about Sage earlier?" Tonks asked, undeterred.

The trio's jaws all dropped.

"You know Sage Ravenclaw?" Hermione asked astounded.

Tonks and the other Aurors laughed, "Most Aurors know Sage. She's everywhere."

"She was supposed to be here today, but work kept her." Moody growled.

"And you're her boss!" Mrs. Weasley chided, "I don't know why you didn't just allow her to come, the sweetheart must be exhausted, hasn't been dropping by as much as usual-"

"She's very busy Molly. I talked to her the other day." Mr. Weasley assured his wife.

"And I did say she could come, but there was a problem with a death eater in Norway. She couldn't _not_ go, according to her." Moody told her, a hint of pride in his voice.

"She sends her congrats." Tonks offered to Bill and Fleur. "Also, she says if either of you ever break up she's going to take that as the symbol that her love life is hopeless too." She paused, smirked, and added, "Just to let you know."

Bill raised his scarred eyebrow. He wasn't fully a werewolf, but during the full moon he had an undeniable desire for meat. Thankfully not the human kind.

"Don't worry, she said the same thing to me." Tonks eyes twinkled as she squeezed Lupin's hand.

"So you..._know_ her?" Harry asked, dumbfounded.

"We're best mates." She shrugged.

"Well." Hermione said, then getting excited, "That's-that's fantastic! You can help us contact her and ask her about the-"

"Hermione!" Harry snapped, her voice died out immediately. It was about the Horcrux! That was between him, Dumbledore, Hermione, Ron, and no one else. _No one else_. Everyone -but Moody- jumped at the harsh sound of Harry's voice.

"Is there something you wanna tell us Potter?" Moody asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"No sir." Harry lied, his face apathetic, glaring at Hermione who was trying to shrink into nothingness in the clearly solid wooden chair.

"Is something wrong?" Tonks asked, clearly worried about him, as was everyone else who were giving him various looks of 'Where are the nice men in the white jackets when you need them?'.

_**(A/N: Or the white men in the nice jackets. Snicker, snicker. Sorry, couldn't resist)**_

"Sage, she's sane though, isn't she?" Ron asked. "Not like a death eater or nothing, right?"

Tonks gave him a lopsided grin and said, "Best Auror, and one of the most dedicated."

"Could Voldemort have something against her?" Harry asked carefully.

A few people flinched at the name, but most just watched Harry with confused eyes. They had all quickly learned that the three knew a few things they didn't and that meant skirting around subjects and asking questions no one else understood. They had -for the most part- given up trying to understand.

"I believe he has something against everyone, Harry." Lupin responded wisely when no one answered.

"Do you need to talk about something?" Tonks finally found her voice long enough to ask.

"You know what I do need?" Harry mused, not unkindly, "Everyone to stop asking me that." and with a sigh he stood up and walked away, off around the magically held up house, leaving more questions behind than he had answered.

Harry sat in the gardens just thinking. Thinking about the most random things as he watched the little gnome-like creatures dash through the gardens squealing, "Get offa me! Get offa me!" as Harry made half-hearted attempts to grab them just to keep his hands busy and his thoughts in check. His mind was running wild, thinking stupidly impossible things and worrying himself to the point where he would break out in a cold sweat for no apparent reason. Finally, after a what felt like hours but was really only about twenty minutes, Harry decided to banish all thoughts of -I'm not thinking about _him_- and -I'm not thinking about _those_ either- from his mind all together, which consequentially made him oodles cheerier.

He practically _skipped_ upstairs to get ready for Bill's wedding and greeted Hermione and Ron like long lost dear friends, which shocked them so much that they forgot about their argument over Sage Ravenclaw -for the time being at least.

They laughed and talked and congratulated Fleur and Bill, and just had some plain old fun. For possibly the last time for a long time. Bill's wedding went without a glitch except for all the women -and Ron- crying. And _RON_?

"Are you _crying_ Ron?" Harry laughed as he watched his best mate rub at his eyes.

"NO! I've just got...got something in my eye." He sniffed.

"Ri-ight." Harry chortled.

Ron whacked him upside the head which then got him a double smack from Hermione and Mrs. Weasley as they both chided, "Don't hit Harry."

"Yes, don't hit Harry." Harry muttered, just containing his laughter. Ron just glared at him with that whole I'm-going-to-get-you-back-yes-laugh-now-while-you-still-can-but-just-you-wait.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione mingled for a while after the ceremony meeting new people and talking with old acquaintances. Ron jumped about ten feet in the air -along with the rest of his family- when Moody roared his name across the backyard, "WEASLEY!" Ron ignored him at first, not sure it was him Mad-Eye Moody was talking to, but as their old professor stormed over it became clear just who he was bellowing for. Ron started to shake.

"Uhh-y-yes Professor?" Ron stuttered.

"Get that wand out of you back pocket boy, you're going to blow a buttock off!" Moody growled at him as Hermione and Harry snickered behind him as he whipped it out so fast it almost flew into the punch bowl.

Equally though, Harry nearly hexed Fleur's little sister Gabriella when she attacked him from behind crying, "My zizter! Zhe iz married!" in a thick French accent. He tried frantically to calm the emotionally unstable girl down but to no avail and it was his turn to be snickered at. When he finally pried himself away from Gabriella -and guiltily to Mrs. Weasley, though it was necessary- he noticed an owl circling the party as if searching for someone, though not sure who. The envelope was red.

"Who do ya reckon that's for?" Ron asked him as he came up with Hermione.  
"I pity whoever it is." Hermione said matter-of-factly, "That's a howler."

Suddenly it dove into the crowd, right for a pink head. Tonks.

All three headed towards her and as soon as they came upon her Harry realized it was a very unusual owl. Pure gray with stunningly vivid green eyes. Kinda like...

"Good girl." Tonks grinned, handing it a treat. The owl budded its head against her shoulder and picked off a piece of lint on Tonk's bright pink dress.

"Yes. Go back to Sage and...give her...this..." Tonks strung out the words as she wrote on a parchment that appeared out of thin air with a pen that had as well. The howler started to smoke around the edges. The owl put the letter in its talons and went to Tonk's pink-hair and ripped out a perfectly straight lock from the heart-shaped head.

"Mystic!" Tonks chastised but the owl just got a glint in its eye and with a hoot was gone. Tonks shook her head but turned the envelope over and read aloud, "Wotcher Tonks. Give this to Harry, kay? Lots of love and congrats to BOTH happy couples. Yes, of course I know about you and..." She trailed off, blushing slightly. Lupin patted her arm and addressed the small crowd around them, "We were going to wait until after Bill's wedding..." He said faintly.

"Oh! MY GOODNESS!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed.

"It's alright." Bill smiled, squeezing Fleur.

Lupin nudged Tonks and she cleared her throat and continued, "Yes, of course I know about you and Remus's engagement-"

Mrs. Weasley shrieked, nearly in tears again. Mr. Weasley put a hand on her arm and gestured for her to calm down.

"And congrats girl! Pink wedding of course." Tonks grinned, "Go so well with that pink do of yours. Now scat. And give this letter to Harry. If you don't I'll know! Now remember what I said, and I meant it, if either of you perfect couples ever break up I'll know I'm screwed too! So make it last, kay? Lots of love and funness and cheerfulness all around! Cheers, Sage."

"I just wanna know how she always knows." Lupin smiled.

"That's Sage, quirky but cute. And of course all knowing." Tonks responded with a knowing smirk.

"Of course." Lupin agreed with a shake of his head.

"Here Harry. And don't worry. She sends howlers to everybody. She doesn't really howl though. She just says it's more personal." Tonks handed him the letter and everyone was watching him intently. "I don't think Sage meant that for the whole party." She winked at him.

"Thanks." He breathed before making a beeline for the house, Hermione and Ron at his heels.

He hated to do this but... "_Muffliato!_" He commanded with his wand when they had reached the kitchen.

"Oh Harry." Hermione grumped.

"It was necessary." He returned.

"Just open it! It's about to burst." Ron cut in impatiently.

Harry broke the seal. This is was going to be interesting...

**_(Remember the Quantum!)_**


	4. Chapter 4, Well Wishings

_A/N: (Hey guys! Sorry this took so long but Writer's Block is plaguing and ravaging my mind and this is the best I could come up with, which is sad as this is a really crappy installment. Thanks for reading though and have a great rest of the summer! Luv you all lotz! -Writing Fairy-)_

**Chapter 4, Well Wishings **

Two things happened when Harry broke the seal of Sage Ravenclaw's letter, one: It shot out of his hand like it was on fire, and two: It started to _glow_. Not smoke, it immediately stopped smoking when Harry broke the seal, but actually _glow_, like a glow stick. The envelope laid out flat on it's back. Just laying there. Then, with a startling _slice!_ it snapped open, straight up.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all watched this with amazement. No howler they'd ever seen had acted like this.

The letter inside the envelope slipped out and unfolded itself, steadily growing larger as it did so, until it was as big as a fairly good sized window. The trio scrambled in front of it and jumped as a small figure appeared in front of the letter.

"Wow." Hermione murmured in awe.

"Wotcher Harry. Ron. Hermione." The figure said pleasantly.

"Is this Sage, Harry?" Hermione whispered to him, taking in the girl's long raven-black curly hair and piercing green eyes. She looked like she was in her early twenties. It looked rather like a hologram, but seemed more solid. Ron reached forward to touch it and Hermione slapped his hand giving him that god-how-stupid-can-you-be look.

"Yeah." Harry returned quietly.

"Geez Harry, if I'd been dreaming bout her _I_ wouldn't a been complaining." Ron was practically drooling. Hermione rolled her eyes, a disgusted expression on her face.

"I presume since you've received this letter you're doing fairly well. Holding up at least." Sage continued kindly. "Tonk's read the outside of the envelope to the whole party I'm guessing, I'm just hoping you three have more common sense and have found a safer place to listen to your mail." The figure rolled her eyes, "Love the girl, but not very stealthy." Which is when Harry glanced at the letter and realized that the words lit up as she spoke them and that you couldn't see what came after what she was speaking. There had to be a good reason for that...his attention suddenly became focused on that and he elbowed Hermione to point it out. She gave the highlighted letters a curious look and shrugged, indicating that she had no idea what was going on. "Well, now I must ask Harry, did you receive anything concerning me before this letter?" Sage looked anxious. "Anything at all?" She paused, looking at him expectantly, "Well, if you haven't then I suppose your sleep had been undisturbed." Did she mean what he thought she meant by that, "But I must warn you of a few things, including whore crooks," Did Harry read that wrong? "as they are very difficult to find and destroy but they do roam in sevens." Now he knew something weird was going on! What in the world was happening? "You may not understand what I am speaking of at first, but I'm sure Hermione can decode my roundabout speech, no doubt." Sage -er, the hologram type Sage- glanced at Hermione reassuringly, who looked alarmed at being singled out, "What you must look for are simple things: a lock and chalice." She paused and they all looked at the figure in alarm. Wasn't insane, eh? "You can find these things in Glyph and Door or maybe The Raven's Claw." The figure shrugged, "They shouldn't be too difficult to find, no?" She winked, "Well, now, onto more serious matters. I was hoping you could sojourn to my house for a few days to continue this lovely conversation. I think I might have something that will interest you. Yes, Hermione, it is time to say 'I told you so.' Have a beautiful day and please send a letter back with the owl that delivered this one. Don't worry, it'll be there when you need it." She grinned, "Cheers! Sage." The parchment rolled up and hovered in front of Hermione. She stared at it for a moment before taking it in a shaking hand.

"She's absolutely bloody mad!" Ron exclaimed.

_A/N: (Well, that's it for this installment. Do you get it? Probably. I couldn't think of anything better so I was stuck with that. Sorry for it's craptacularness. Lotz of luv and thanks for reading. -Writing Fairy-)_


	5. Chapter 5, Finality

_A/N:( Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in a while! This installment is still very fluffy and I apologize. I'm still trying to work most of this plot line out, but I promise by the next installment you'll have something to actually read. I hope. Please don't kill me if it's still really fluff filled. Lotz of luv and thanks for reading! -Writing Fairy-)_**Chapter 5, Finality**

"She's absolutely bloody mad!" Ron repeated, staring at the letter in Hermione's hand like it would eat them all whole.

"Rubbish, Ronald." Hermione protested, though she sounded a little unsure. "There has to be a good reason she wrote what she did." With that she snapped open the parchment decisively and began reading it again, mouthing the words lightly under her breathe.

Harry just watched them, shaking his head, "I dunno if this is a good idea." He informed them, coming up behind Hermione and scanning the letter again. Hermione had already gone through and underlined odd ended words and confounding phrases. Among them was "Then I suppose your sleep has been undisturbed."

Hermione looked up at Harry fleetingly and followed his gaze down to the parchment, "That one I understand. She's talking about the dreams she's sent you. The ones that you said were a load of rubbish." She informed him matter-of-factly. Then the quill made a loud scratch further down and Harry glanced at what she had underlined "I told you so".

"Alright, alright." Harry said hastily as Hermione gave him a rather contemptuous look, but a kind one. The one that friends give other friends when their friend has been undeniable stupid. "But look at the rest of this: a lock and a chalice? What does that have to do..." He trailed off as Hermione rewrote **Locket** and **Cup **over them. He quieted at that. It was code for the Horcrux. "But what about..." He trailed off as Hermione wrote **Horcrux **over 'whore crooks'. "Okay, Miss Know-It-All, then what is Glyph and Door? And The Raven's Claw. Those are stores in Diagon Alley." Harry refuted. He remembered seeing them on his numerous trips there.

"You really aren't very bright, are you Harry?" Hermione sighed exasperatedly as she unraveled the last portion easily, jotting down **Gryffindor **over Glyph and Door and **Ravenclaw** over The Raven's Claw. Harry was speechless. His mind had been so busy trying to disprove all of this that he had closed his mind to all possibilities. Thanks god for Hermione.

"It can't be that simple." Harry protested. Hermione looked up at him with a you're-talking-to-me-here-Harry look that Harry knew very well. And she was right. This wasn't hard to figure out, but you had to know what was going on. You needed the facts and most didn't have them.

"How does Sage know all of this!" Harry growled, frustrated. "Only you, Ron, and me have any idea what's going on. Dumbledore said so."

Hermione paused, looking at Harry musingly. Then she snapped her fingers, "Sage is a Seer Harry. Maybe she saw these things."

"She's a seer?" Ron asked dumbfounded. Harry just gave her a peculiar look.

"But she's not complete poppycock like Professor Trelawney." Hermione scoffed, "She's very professional about it. And very good at what she Sees."

"Of course Sage is." Tonk's said from behind them.

"How long have you been standing there?" Harry asked tensely, which is when he realized his Muffliato spell had worn out.

"Don't worry Harry, I'm not eaves dropping. Just came in for a drink." She laughed, her pink hair bouncing.

"Oh. Right." Harry responded sheepishly.

"She _is_ very professional about Seeing, though." Tonks offered, filling her cup with ice before putting some soda in it too. "Doesn't pretend to see things she doesn't and most things she sees are very solid. Just flashes, but they've helped Aurors greatly. She's a good person." Tonks added. "Did she happen to ask to meet you?"

"Yes." Hermione answered immediately. Harry shot her a look but she stared right back defiantly.

"Then she's got something very important to say to you lot." Tonks told them seriously, "I'd take the invitation under serious consideration before vetoing the trip. When you've decided, tell me, and I'll take you." She added before leaving the kitchen.

"_Muff-_" Harry began, but Hermione whacked his wand hand and glared at him saying, "Don't. You. Dare."

He lowered his wand, glowering at her, but stowed it away, back in his robe pocket.

"I think we should go." Ron offered, coming near his two friends.

"I agree." Hermione nodded.

"I still don't-"

"It can't hurt to stop on the way to Godric's Hollow." Hermione told him firmly.

Harry just groaned and put his head in his hands.

"I do believe that's a yes." Hermione glowed.

"We're leaving tomorrow, whether you want to or not. I'm making it to Godric's Hollow by the end of this week. No matter what." Harry informed them firmly, storming out of the kitchen.

"I've sent a letter to Sage." Hermione whispered to him after searching through the crowd for him. Harry looked up to see the gray owl with vivid green eyes soaring away over the crowd. "Came back, just like she said it would." She grinned widely.

"We're leaving tomorrow." He reminded her tiredly.

"Yeah, I know." She responded quietly, "But does Mrs. Weasley?" She paused, "Or Ginny?"

Suddenly Harry felt kinda bad. He caught sight of Ginny through the crowd, laughing at Fred and George over something funny they had just said. She looked beautiful in the elegant purple dress she was wearing. Her orange hair was curled and pinned away from her face and Harry couldn't help but notice that she looked beautiful. He had been unable to look away from her earlier and he was once again hit with the same sensation. Suddenly she looked over as if she had felt him gazing at her, and caught his emerald colored eyes with her own blue ones. She smiled slightly and walked over, taking his hand, and leading him away from the party. Hermione grinned and dragged Ron away before he noticed.

"What's going on Harry?" Ginny asked him quietly.

He didn't answer though. He just slowly leaned forward and kissed her gently and sweetly. She seemed surprised at first, but soon responded warmly. But no matter how much she was enjoying this she still had to ask, "What's all of this about?"

Harry took a deep breathe, "I'm leaving tomorrow morning, first thing." He told her breathily.

Ginny looked up in his eyes, held him tightly, and kissed him fiercely.

Harry laid down in bed that night, staring up at the fire red ceiling. Mrs. Weasley had nearly flayed them alive when Harry had made his little announcement. All three of them had shrugged off her ranting though. This was important and they all knew it. One day, Harry knew, he would have to tell them. He felt pretty awful, keeping something like this from everyone, but he felt it was his responsibility, for the time anyway. He would have loved to just shove this off on someone older, more experienced, but he knew he couldn't. He would have to deal with this on his own. Did Sage really have a Horcrux? Just how much did she actually know? And how much of it had she seen and how much had Dumbledore told her? But even if she offered to help, he knew she couldn't be allowed to. This was his battle. In the end, even Hermione and Ron weren't going to be part of this. He was going to make sure of that. This was all on his shoulders. Either he was going to be the killer or he was going to be the killed.

That was final.

_A/N: (Thanks for reading and have a great day! Once again, my apologies for all the boring, incessant bits! Laterz! -Writing Fairy-)_


	6. Chapter 6, Worldly Issues

_A/N: (Hey guys! I was actually going to post this almost two days ago but my internet completely died and would not even let me sign in! Grr. Anyway, here's the next chapter! Hope this one's more up to par than the others! Luv ya lotz, laterz! -Writing Fairy-)_

**Chapter 6, Worldly Issues**

Harry sighed as he loaded some last few random items in his trunk. Across from him Ron was still sleeping even though Harry -and Hermione- had woken him up at least four times already. Harry, finally sick of Ron's laziness and, most of all, his snoring, whipped out his wand and lazily flicked it at his best mate's feet, "_Wingardium Leviosa!" _

Ron let out a yell as he flipped upside down, "Harry!" He hollered angrily.

"What's going..." Hermione began, popping her head in the room, then grinned, "Glad to see you're finally up Ron." Harry dropped Ron and snapped his trunk shut, snickering.

"That wasn't funny Harry." Ron grumbled, untangling himself from his sheets and falling to the ground, cursing.

"We're leaving in an hour." Harry said tightly before walking briskly out of the room with his trunk. As he entered the kitchen Mrs. Weasley gave him a very stiff look and no good morning.

Harry just blew, "I know you think this was my idea Mrs. Weasley, but Ron and Hermione wanna make this trek. If I had _my _way we'd be here 'til the end of the week." with that Harry walked right out of the house to a surprised and flustered, "Oh!" from Ron's mum.

Harry stalked outside and walked slowly around the Weasley house. It surprised Harry when, when he looked up, he saw the grey owl with the vivid green eyes flying towards him. It hovered over him, as if waiting for something. Or _someone_. Harry then realized it was waiting patiently for him to hold out his arm. He obliged and it landed gently on his wrist. It -wait, didn't Tonks call it Mystic?- Mystic held out her leg and Harry claimed the red envelope from it. When he did so, Mystic flew up and surprised him mildly when she landed on his head and starting running her beak through his hair.

"Wotcher Harry! Glad to hear you've decided to pay me a visit." The Sage hologram told him with a grin, "I have no doubt you would like to get here on your own, but if you do want to make this easy on yourself -and everyone else, I might add- Tonks has offered to give you a lift, and it would be in all of our best interests if you took it." Sage sighed, "But I'm not certain you will. But good luck and you are welcome here anytime! Cheers, Sage."

The note burned to a crisp and wafted away in the wind. Harry watched it go with a rather blatant curiosity. Sage seemed very powerful. Not unlike Dumbledore. Seemed to believe that with magic anything was possible, just from the state of her letters you could tell. It made Harry all the more nervous to meet her.

"Wotcher Harry."

Harry jumped and spun around. Sage?

"You alright there Harry?" Tonks asked him oddly, and Harry breathed freely again.

"Yeah. Yeah. What are you doing here?" Harry shook his head to stop the throbbing beating that was bouncing from one temple to the other. He had given himself a right scare and it seemed not to be sitting with him very well.

"Just checking on you." Tonks grinned, "Received another howler from Sage?"

"Yeah." Harry responded. Tonks held up a letter and smiled, "Me too." she pause, looking at him for a moment before saying, "I'm glad you've decided to visit Sage. You could learn something from her Harry, you really could." She was so sincere about it that Harry was completely taken aback. Sage? Around early twenties, from a family of Ravenclaw's but in Gryffindor, skilled in hidden messages? What could he learn from her? But then again he remember the Dumbledore-like feel she held about her letters. And Mystic. The owl. She didn't seem normal either. Just then said-spoken-of owl popped her head in his and hooted softly. Almost...encouragingly.

Tonks smirked, "Looks like Mystics gonna be with you three."

"What?" Harry asked startled, reaching up to stroke her.

"Sage's owl isn't exactly...normal." Tonks fudged. There was obviously more to this story. Mystic looked straight at her with those deadly vivid green eyes, almost like a warning. "Alright, alright Mystic. I get it." She rolled her eyes, then she turned to Harry and said apologetically, "Sorry to leave ya hanging, but Sage'll have to answer that one in more detail."

But now Harry's interest was peeked. What was it about that owl? It was certainly...unique. "She's staying with us?"

"He." Tonks corrected.

"But I thought you said she?" Harry asked confused.

"I'm so used to owls being she's, I've only had girls. Habit. Sorry. But the owl's a he." Tonks responded, rather distractedly. But she shook her head and refocused on Harry, "SO, would you like a lift or no?"

Harry thought about. This was his battle. He'd have to learn to be on his own at some point or another... "I think we'll manage, but thanks."

"That's exactly what Sage said you'd say." Tonks sighed, but she was grinning. "That girl knows everything, I swear. No lying to her. But Harry," She continued, apparently trying to pick her words carefully as she continued, "Just remember you are never alone. I don't think any of us will be relieved until you're with Sage and doing this without me will give Mrs. Weasley a nervous breakdown." She warned.

"We have to learn to be on our own sometime." Harry told her firmly.

"And they say Seeing's a crock." Tonks shook her head a walked off, a small smile playing on her lips.

"You guys ready?" Hermione asked with a deep breathe as they drove to the train station.

"I don't know what there is to be ready for." Harry snorted. Mystic seemed to have found his head a very comfortable perch and he had dosed off there. Needless to say, Hedwig was not happy. She stayed on Hermione's shoulder hooting derisively at Mystic who very clearly did not care. His instructions were to stay with Harry, and stay with Harry he was. At least that's what Hermione offered.

"We're going off on our own!" Ron exclaimed, "That's gotta be a first Harry."

"Not really." Harry responded sarcastically. Since when was he _not_ on his own? The Dursley's were not exactly his piece-de-resistance.

_A/N: (Sorry, I couldn't the accents in an gave up. Ooh, how dedicated am I?)_

"Now I want you three to be very careful, and follow your ticket to the letter, understand you three? I am putting a load of faith in you Ronald, now I can't speak you Harry and Hermione..." Mrs. Weasley had been rambling for the past fifteen minute but was being very much ignored by the three who were supposed to be paying attention as they continued their own conversation.

"I'm still not sure this the best idea." Harry informed them doubtfully.

"We know that Harry." Hermione sighed, "But she seems like she really needs to talk to us. And Harry! She could have..." Hermione made a gesture, like you-know-what-I-mean.

"But we don't know that for sure." Harry argued. (Yet again.)

"I think we do." Hermione responded unfalteringly. Harry just sighed and let it go. He and Hermione had been bickering all morning, Ron just watching on. Harry was his best mate but he agreed with Hermione. He _had_ to stay out of it.

They made it to the train station, Mrs. Weasley still blathering on and on about Ronald and how she was trusting him and how they were getting so big and becoming so responsible and... "Oh! Just be careful!" Mrs. Weasley cried flinging her arms around them while they were standing in front of their train, ready to board.

"We will Mrs. Weasley." Hermione choked out through the crushing affect of Mrs. Weasley's killer strangle -uhm, hug.

"Ronald will be fine, too." Harry snickered breathily. Ron elbowed him hard in the side, not a mean feat when so squished together.

"Molly. Molly dear." Mr. Weasley told her softly. "Molly." He finally repeated very firmly, prying her away from the trio. "They have to go or they're going to miss their train."

"Oh, yes. Of course." Mrs. Weasley sniffed, wiping at her eyes.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione waved good bye out the window before heading off to find a seat.

Harry looked out the window, at the steam pouring out of the smoke stack, at the gloomy sky that looked ready to open up at any moment, to their small little compartment, and realized something for the first time, "We're on our own."

They weren't heading off to Hogwarts. They weren't heading _home_ from Hogwarts. They weren't going to Diagon Alley. They weren't going to the hospital. They were alone. On their own. Going somewhere that wasn't exactly normal. Or very well prearranged, but they were on their own. It hit Harry kind of hard. Yeah, he knew in the end it would be just him. Just him, Hermione, and Ron to some extent, but in the very, very end, it would be just him. And it didn't take him long realize just how scary a prospect that was. That feeling of alone. Each death he had faced had brought a similar loneliness feeling with it, but this time it hit him in one huge wave. It was the way things were supposed to be and just then he realized how unprepared he was for it all. He shook his head and brushed away those particular thoughts. Pointless now.

Mystic hooted and Harry, Ron, and Hermione jerked awake. Hermione listened to the man speaking over the intercom and quickly realized that they were where they were supposed to be. They quickly grabbed their trunks and hurried off the train before it started up again.

"Thanks Mystic. I don't know where we'd be without you." Hermione told him gratefully running a finger over his oddly all-grey feathers.

They lugged their trunks through the station ad headed for the street outside. They had a few hours before they had to catch the next train. Harry watched all the people bustling through the station, their feet pounding against the hard concrete floor and echoing off of the metal walls, and felt overwhelmed as he realized that all the people in this station -everywhere- were dependant on _him_. A slip of a sixteen year old boy with a stick in a bathrobe. Great. That was exactly what the world needed.

When they made it outside with their Hogwarts trunks they finally realized that what they had thought was the pounding of feet was actually rain against the roof. They hurried quickly into the nearest cafe and sat down. They ordered some lunch and ate in silence. As the minutes wore on the cafe grew colder and colder and all three of them started to shiver.

Harry looked up and asked tensely, "Did it just get...cold...in here?" Mystic was tense on his shoulder and dropped the sausage she had just swiped from his plate. Hedwig fluttered off and hovered next to Mystic who hooted quietly at her. Hedwig dropped to the table and Mystic flew up to the window, peering out. He flew back immediately, landing heavily on Harry's shoulder and squeezing his shirt tightly in his claws. He hooted in an eerie voice and Harry knew exactly what was going on. His hands tightened on the table as a piercing scream filled his ears.

"HHAAAAARRRRRYYYYYY!" The windows frosted over and Hermione and Ron paled completely.

"Why would dementors be here?" Hermione asked wanly. Both Hermione and Ron looked at Harry frightened. They were all thinking the same thing, they just hoped it wasn't true. The dementors must have finally swayed over to Voldemort, it had only been a matter of time. That meant no one was watching Azkaban, and that meant nothing good. But for the moment they were left to wonder why the dementors were in some small random town. The answer came to them quicker than they would have liked: The dementors were their for Harry.

_A/N: (Sorry I haven't updated in while. School started and I just couldn't get into the story and the plot completely escaped me, but I think I've got it now. I hope this one's better than the others! Please review! Lotz of luv, laterz! -Writing Fairy-)_


	7. Chapter 7, What to do, Where to go

_A/N: Sorry about the wait folks but I'm really focusing on finishing my POTC story and it's very time consuming. That and homework and my job keep me really busy. Thanks for reading and luv you lotz! Laterz –Writing Fairy-)_

**Chapter 7, What to do, Where to go**

The room chilled over and Harry, Ron, and Hermione just sat their, frozen. What were they going to do anyway? Finally Harry got his wits about him and grabbed Hermione by the arm who in turn grabbed Ron.

"Come _on_!" Harry urged the two, dashing behind the counter at the small cafe, ignoring the workers protesting calls to their retreating backs. He pushed passed a cook and dove for the door at the end of the kitchen. They burst through it only to get immediately drenched with cold stinging sprays of water as they sprinted down the alley. Fortunately it wasn't a dead end and they ran out from the isle of brick only to wish they hadn't.

Dementors. They swarmed everywhere up and down the street. Stricken, the three just stood there, very unsure about what they should do and it didn't take long before over half the dementors zeroed in on the trio.

"Um, Harry?" She asked.

"Yes Hermione?" Harry questioned as the dementors got closer and closer and he could just hear the faint sound of a woman screaming, "HHHAAAAAARRRRYYY."

"What are we supposed to do?" She squeaked as her skin paled and she could feel the dementors tugging away every dreg of hopefulness she had.

"Run?" Ron offered stiffly. But not much more could be said as Harry whipped out his wand and yelled, "_Expecto Patronum!" _A bright white light erupted out of his wand in the form of a stag and began chasing the dementors away, "Follow me!" Harry ordered, running off towards the train station. To which it definitely wasn't time to board their train. He glanced down at his watch and swore, they had another forty-five minutes before their train would arrive!

"Hermione, are you confident in your apparating abilities?" Harry asking panting as they stopped just inside the station, soaking and dripping water.

"Alone, yes, but I mean, I can't take others, I haven't exactly tried-" Hermione stuttered.

"Now's as good a time as any." Harry informed her impatiently grabbing her arm. Ron dutifully grabbed her other arm and gave her an expectant look. The large station started to chill over.

"Not here!" Hermione protested, looking around at the bustling crowd. Harry swore again. She was right.

"Well, then where!" Harry demanded.

"I don't know! The bathroom!" Hermione cried frustrated. Why were they always looking at her for all the answers!

"Brilliant!" Harry exclaimed.

And that's how Hermione found herself shifting from foot to foot next to a urinal in the boys bathroom. Surprisingly it was completely empty. Hermione had been skeptical about the whole bathroom idea just because the girls bathroom was always so crowded. Apparently it was different in the boys. And you always wonder why the girls line extended out into the hallway and the boys just walked right in (and out two seconds later. Seriously, how do guys do that?).

"Stop jittering and apparate." Harry scolded.

"Why is no one in here?" Hermione couldn't help but ask.

"Hermione!" Harry and Ron yelled.

"Well I don't know what I'm doing! What do you expect!" She snapped angrily. A chill started to fill the bathroom and the ice crept up the windows. Time was running.

"Apparate!" Harry ordered grabbing her arm tightly, Ron mimicked him.

"Where!" Hermione cried, jumping up and down nervously. This was all on her. And her was very, very lost.

"187 Broker Street! Where else!" Harry shouted frantically as he heard his mother calling his name again.

"Well I don't know!" Hermione retorted frightened. She was just trying to get out of this. There was NO way she was going to do this and have them all be in one piece!

"JUST APPARATE!" Ron yelled, his voice echoing in the ceramic tiled bathroom as the door blew open and the dementors became visible.

Hermione took a deep breath, squeezed her eyes and focused...187 Broker Street...I can't do this!...187 Broker Street...187 Broker Street...


	8. Chapter 8, Just A Side Trip

_A/N: (I am sorry, my ever faithful readers. I have neglected this fanfic on a level that is entirely inexcusable. You are welcome to break out the torches and pitchforks especially since this chapter is not even that good. I have no idea where this story is going, which is really bad. I'm kinda winging it, which is even worse. So I beg a thousand apologies and hope this is at least satisfactory! Lotz of luv and you all need to update soon before I die of complete and utter boredom! Laterz! -Writing Fairy-)_

**Chapter 8, Just A Side Trip**

"Hermione?" Harry said quietly. She kept her eyes shut tight. She did NOT want to know where they had ended up, "Did we make it?" She finally asked as Harry and Ron let go of her.

"Just open your eyes." Harry told her. Hermione gritted her teeth and did as he said.

"Now would you like to tell us where the hell we are?" Ron snapped annoyed.

"Well excuse me!" Hermione snapped back, "I have never carried anyone while apparating before! None the less two!"

"Well, you're supposed to be the bloody genius!" Ron yelled, more frightened than angry, "You're supposed to do everything right!-"

"I'm not perfect Ronald!" She informed him furiously.

"No doubt about that-" Ron retorted sarcastically.

"Guys! Quit it! You're not helping." Harry scolded them, his eyes roving up and down the street, taking in row after row of the same brown colored houses. Why did this place look so...familiar...Oh. Well he felt stupid.

"Private Drive." Hermione said strangely.

"Private Drive." Harry confirmed a little oddly. Then he turned to Hermione and asked, "What brought us here?"

"I don't know." Hermione shook her head, running a shaking hand through her hair, "I was rushed...and-and stressed. And I was thinking about how you promised you would go home at least once and I tried focusing on Broker Street but-but...I don't know!" Hermione finally snapped.

"It's fine. I just...wondered." Harry sighed. "Well, while we're here..."

"Might as well...visit." Hermione finished, expressing Harry's reluctance for him.

"Must we?" Harry sighed.

"Might as well get it over with while we're here mate." Ron shrugged, shoving his hand in his pocket and hitching his bag up higher on his other arm before heading down the street.

Hermione shrugged and did the same, following in Ron's stead. Harry just stared after them. He'd really rather not. Of course he'd rather not. But he had to. So he sighed and followed. Not that that made it any easier.

Uncle Vernon's face was puce-colored as he realized just who was at the door. He huffed and growled, "What are you doing here boy?"

"I need to visit once before I turn seventeen." Harry responded tightly.

"Let him in Vernon." Petunia told him firmly. She was looking around nervously as if waiting for a howler to come speeding into the house.

Harry entered, followed closely by Hermione and Ron. Uncle Vernon bulked completely, "I know we have to let the boy in, but his friends...?" Harry paused and looked at his uncle.

"Vernon." was all Aunt Petunia said. Harry didn't exactly like the woman, but she wasn't an idiot like her husband. She knew when to just let things go. But she still looked at Harry expectantly. Ah, introductions. "Aunt Petunia, these are my best mates Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley." was the extent of his detail. Aunt Petunia extended her bony hand and shook each of their hands and looked meaningfully at Uncle Vernon. How they appeared to other people was all that they lived for. Vernon grunted and stuck out his hand.

"Hello." Hermione said pleasantly shaking their hands in turn.

"Yeah, er, hello." Ron agreed awkwardly.

"Well this is going to be fun." Harry muttered under his breathe.

Things were...tense...to put it kindly. Dudley had scampered off in that bully-like way of his as soon as he caught a glimpse of the trio, Uncle Vernon managed to grow redder and redder as the minutes passed, and Aunt Petunia was shaking and glancing around anxiously ever few seconds. At the very least Harry was getting this visit out of the way. They all sat in the living room with a cup of tea and a plate of cookies, just staring at the ceiling, willing the clock to move faster.

Hermione kept trying to make conversation, but failing, "You house is very...clean." She commented awkwardly.

"Thank you." Aunt Petunia replied stiffly. And that was the end of that.

Ron was just sitting their scarfing down the cookies while trying to seem polite -a hard endeavor. Harry was getting extremely impatient, tapping his feet, rocking back and forth. He hated this house. It represented a horrible childhood and reminded him of everything that had once oppressed him. Now the world was limitless. Once he turned seventeen...home was going to be whatever patch of dirt he happened to be standing on. Work was going to be finding and destroying Lord Voldemort. Then he would become an Auror. Everything was going to work out...

When they finally managed to wriggle out of Harry's Aunt and Uncle's they just walked down the street. They were really in no rush. They couldn't apparate there anyway.

"They're...quiet." Hermione offered kindly as she had never actually met the Dursley's before.

"Yeah. Sure." Harry scoffed scuffing the ground with his shoe.

"Harry, are we really not going back this year?" Hermione asked quietly.

"I don't know how I can." Harry replied, trying to sound casual, but the fact was rather getting to him too. Hogwarts was his home. "You two can-"

"No Harry. If you aren't then we aren't." Ron told him firmly.

"Right." Hermione agreed, but didn't sound too enthusiastic about it.

Harry just realized something he hadn't before, "Where's Mystic?" Hedwig hooted from Harry's shoulder like 'who gives?' It was obvious she wasn't a fan of him but it was Sage's owl and if something happened to him while he was with Harry, he'd feel really bad...

Suddenly a hoot came from the other side of the street and something gray swooped in front of Harry's face, dropping something in his hand. Mystic! It was another howler.

"Another one?" Hermione frowned. She was a bit...weirded out now.

"There's nothing to worry about." Harry informed her.

"Why not?"

"I dunno. She just seems a lot like Dumbledore..." The last word was said quietly and rather cut off from the rest of the sentence. He broke the seal on the parchment and immediately it unfurled and out popped the Sage-hologram.

"Wotcher, Harry, Ron, Hermione." She said pleasantly, "Heard you had quite a brush-in with some dementors. I daresay I wish you would let us help you, but it'd hurt your ego too much to bear I suppose." She added wryly. "I just wanted to warn you of the dangers going on around you, things you've been sheltered from at Hogwarts and even at the Burrow." Sage had a serious look to her face and a no-nonsense tone to her voice. Harry couldn't help but think she sounded a lot like- " Death Eaters. They roam the land with a vengeance at this point. Werewolves, the first full moon is tonight, of course it would have to be." The Sage-gram rolled her eyes exasperatedly, "So if you could make it here before nightfall that would be grand. Trolls, stupid but brute force. A few would take you down in a matter of minutes. Though you might already know that." She winked. "Let me see, he has plenty of allies as of the moment. I know you already know about the dementors, but I just want you three to know that they are everywhere. Sightings have been reported from nearly every other city and you had better be cautious. The giants, I'm fairly certain they have been swayed just enough. Be careful though, make sure to ascertain just who's side they're on before you attack as I believe Hagrid managed to get a few on our side..." She hummed slightly thinking. Finally she sighed and told them, "For immediate dangers I think that does it. That offer is still open to have Tonk's take you by the way, so don't be shy!" She paused for a moment then said oddly, "And Voldemort. You might wanna watch out for him too. Cheers, and have a safe journey! Sage."

"How does she always know!" Harry said frustrated.

"I told you, she's a seer." Hermione sighed, starting to become frustrated with Harry and Ron's ability to never remember a single thing she ever told them. Like about technology in Hogwarts. One day, many years from now, it will sink in. She just knew it. It had to.

"So what are we gonna do? Walk up to a giant and ask politely 'Are you working for the evil wizard you-know-who or are you a card carrying Phoenix member?'" Ron asked sarcastically, "I'll tell you what would happen: THWACK, SPLAT. No more Harry, Ron, and Hermione. We'd be flatter than a pancake."

Harry and Ron just gave him an exasperated look. "You know that's not what she meant right?" Hermione asked him dubiously.

Ron's face just slackened, "Yeah. Sure. I knew that."

"Right." Hermione rolled her eyes. Then became serious and Harry was once again hit with a sense of de ja vu. She sounded just like- "So let's just recap. The werewolves won't come out until the moon rises-"

"Unless you're Greyback and bite in human form." Harry interjected darkly.

"Which we've found is non lethal." Hermione pointed out.

"If not completely disgusting." Ron added with an irritated look on his face.

"Trolls." Hermione pondered. "I'm not sure if they'd come this close to all of these houses. They'd get lost in the subdivisions. Voldemort would have to be a halfwit to send them in a place like this. Giants, giants we would hear before they got close. People would be screaming, we could see them from a mile around, they'd be all over the telly." Hermione continued. "And that leaves the Death Eaters."

"And Voldemort." Harry added quietly.

"Yeah."

"Great. Our biggest fans!"

_A/N: ( I hope you liked it and once again, my apologies on my thoughtless neglecting! Please review and update all of your wonderful stories soon! Lotz of luv and everything else except for all this darn homework teacher's just LUV to torture us all with! Laterz! __-Writing Fairy-)_


	9. Chapter 9, Run? Hell Yeah

**Chapter 9, Run? Hell Yeah. **

"Speaking of our biggest fans..." Ron stuttered, pointing in front of them. Harry whirled around to see wizards in black long black cloaks and masks apparating around the three. "Harry!"

"What are we supposed to do?" Hermione whimpered.

"How should I know?" Harry snapped, his body tensing. He slowly started to reach in his pocket when a voice barked, "Don't move Potter." He recognized that voice!

"Malfoy." He spat back, "Gotten out of jail have we?"

"An unfortunate mistake." Lucius Malfoy responded distastefully, "But now that the dementors are under the Dark Lord's control what are you going to send me to? A _muggle_ jail?" He snickered.

"Enough talk." A cold female voice broke through the taunting, "The Dark Lord is waiting."

"Bellatrix." Harry hissed under his breathe.

"Aw, did you miss me Potter?" She asked sweetly. "Without my bloody cousin around I suppose you did."

Hermione and Ron quickly took hold of Harry's arms as he started to lunge for that awful mask. The Death Eaters snickered at them, which only made Harry tug on the two harder, "Let go of me! I'm going to kill her!" He hollered at them. The Death Eaters laughed louder. Malfoy loudest of all. So Harry focused on him.

"How's your son Malfoy, about to become a Death Eater too, isn't he?" Harry called to Lucius after failing to rip himself from his friends grasps, "But he failed Voldemort didn't he? What happened to him? What did Voldemort do?" The Death Eaters stopped laughing immediately to stare at him. Lucius's wand arm raised, shaking angrily, but Harry couldn't stop, his fury consumed him as he continued, "He got it good didn't he? How could such a bad Death Eater come from a great one like yourself? You must be so proud to have such a pathetic son. Not even able to kill a doddering old man like Dumbledore! Not devoid of emotion like you are. Not as cold hearted and beastly is he? He'll never be a Death Eater like-"

"_Crucio!_" Malfoy shrieked. Immediately Harry's body convulsed and sharp knives jammed through his skin. Hermione and Ron lost their grips on him and he fell to the ground, his body writhing in pain. He didn't scream. He didn't yell. He grunted through the pain. Each time it got easier and easier, he realized. His body was slowly becoming accustomed to the sharp wracking pains. It left him panting heavily on the hard concrete.

"Do you want more Potter!" Malfoy demanded.

"We aren't supposed to do anything to the boy, Malfoy." Bellatrix drawled. "Do what you want to the other two. The Dark Lord just wants Potter."

"If he wants to remain whole before he makes it to the Dark Lord he had better watch his tongue." Malfoy said tightly. Ron and Hermione helped him up with terrified looks on their faces.

"You okay, mate?" Ron asked shakily.

"Fine." Harry whispered back.

"Oh Harry!" Hermione exclaimed tightly giving him a quick hug.

"We should teach him some respect before he goes to the Dark Lord." A voice echoed maliciously, Crabbe, if Harry was thinking clearly.

"As much as I would love to..." Bellatrix trailed off.

"We can at least make him watch us torture the other two." Goyle offered.

Bellatrix seemed to consider that one, "The Dark Lord wants him now." She said finally with a longing sigh. "I'd've loved to see his face though..."

"Would you quit talking about me like I'm not here." Harry snapped.

"Maybe some lessons in respect wouldn't be too bad." Bellatrix said, her voice filled with the rage they couldn't see in her masked eyes. "_Imperio!_" She shrieked. Harry grabbed Ron and Hermione and dove to the ground hard, he felt his jeans rip and his vision blurred.

"Where did they come from?" Malfoy hissed then shouting, "_Avada Kadavra!_" Harry's head shot up immediately to see Tonk's, Moody, and several other Aurors pop into the picture, including Knightly. Thankfully the killing curse was badly aimed and didn't hit anyone, but it came perilously close to Tonks. Way too close for comfort.

"Wotcher Harry." Tonks grinned at him as she caught his gaze. She wasn't fighting, but with the three of them. She helped them up, making sure to keep at least one eye on the battle going on all around them and her wand raised.

"You didn't think we could make it on our own?" Harry asked reproachfully.

Tonks raised a rather confused eyebrow. "We've been trailing Malfoy ever since he got out of Azkaban earlier this morning. It just so happens that he ended up after you. Not that we didn't expect it."

"What Harry means is thank you Tonks." Hermione cut in quickly as Harry's mouth opened, no doubt to say something else as unthankful.

"Go on you three, off to Sage." Moody growled, as he sent a jinx straight to Bellatrix who's body immediately locked up, frozen. A rather triumphant look crossed Harry's face. He would never be truly satisfied until she was dead, but, for now, that would do.

"And this time I'm helping." Tonk's sighed, taking hold of the three of them. Suddenly Harry felt like he was being squeezed into an ultra tight tube. The oxygen around him was slowly disappearing and the silver ebb of the tunnel was swallowing him whole, and, just like before, just when he thought he was going to die from asphyxiation the tunnel let up and the cool breeze of oncoming nightfall hit him square in the face. It was later here than it was on Private Drive, the sun was just starting to descend and a cool silence fell like a shroud across the whole street. He looked up at the intersection. This was Broker Street all right.

"We could've gotten here on our own." Harry informed her weakly. "Eventually."

"Yeah, well, I think Mrs. Weasley's torn out enough hair for the day. She'll be bald if you three keep this up." Tonk's retorted.

"Where does she live?" Hermione queried.

"At the end of the street." Tonks responded. Then she raised a pink eyebrow at them, "You _can _make it to the end of the street without being attacked, can't you?"  
"You're not coming with us?" Ron asked nervously.

"As much as I would love to see Sage..." Tonks said wistfully, "I have to return to the other Aurors."

"Oh. Right." Harry responded, "We can make it."

"Be careful you three." She said with a suspicious gaze as she turned around on her heel, wobbled slightly before catching herself and apparating, a slight blush to her cheeks, "Tell Sage I said hi..." Her voice floated back to them as she disappeared.

"Tonk's is absolutely wonderful." Hermione laughed.

"Good for a laugh anyway." Ron agreed, but Hermione just gave him a look and smacked him on the arm.

"Come on guys, let's get going." Harry said finally, shaking his head.

"187 Broker Street, right?" Hermione asked as they started walking.

"Yeah...right there." Harry replied slowly as they came upon the house. It was large and white, surrounded by colorful flowers and neat as a pin. But as they walked up the walkway to the front door the flowers quickly disappeared to leave dark green willows and shrubbery. Long tendrils fell from overhead and just skimmed their heads like a mother's hands stroking her child. It was a little eerie, but curiosity was chief among Harry's emotions as they drew closer and closer to the front door.

"And no problems to speak of!" Ron exclaimed sarcastically.

"POTTER!" A voice howled.

"You spoke too soon!" Hermione snapped at him. The voice clearly belonged to Malfoy. Not. Good. At. All. They dashed to the top step and Harry slammed his fist loudly on the door, hoping for all that he was worth that Sage was home. Suddenly Mystic glided up and picked something up on the top of the door frame and dropped it directly over Harry. It was small and felt like cold metal as it slammed onto his head. It bounced off and he missed whatever it was as it hit the cement walkway and slid underneath a bush.

"A key!" Hermione exclaimed, immediately diving down to get it. Unfortunately so had Harry and Ron at the exact same moment and they somehow managed to create a three-way head knock. Wonderful.

"Ow." They moaned in unison, drawing back and holding their heads. Mystic hooted agravatedly and scooped down under the bush, snapping it up and into Hermione's lap. He looked up at her, directly in the eye, and she felt something extremely-

"Hermione!" Harry yelled jumping up, "Open the door!" Ron was already on his feet waiting expectantly, but Hermione just sat there dumbfounded, staring at Mystic.

"Hermione!" Harry repeated, pulling her up and snatching the key out of her hands and jamming it into the lock just as Malfoy called, "ARE WE PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK POTTER!"

Harry shoved the door open and he, Hermione and Ron tumbled through, Mystic flying in over head. They fell to the ground in a jumble, tangled up in each other's limbs.

SLAM!

They all froze as the room was flooded with darkness. The door had shut. But they were all still on the ground.


	10. Chapter 10, Doors Only Close

_**PLEASE READ AS REQUEST OF AUTHOR! THANK YOU VERY MUCH! **_

_A/N: (Hello my dear and faithful readers. I know it's been a while and I feel really bad, but this chapters good. I hope. The ending's going to shock you half to death anyway. OH, AND SURPRISE! I know I didn't even mention this but this installment ends in such an awesome cliffie that this is going to be the last one in this fanfic! Which means you'll have to wait until the sequel to see what happens! Mwuhahahaha. Sorry, I'm feeling rather evil tonight. Anywayz, enjoy! Laterz and thanks for reading! -Writing Fairy-)_

**Chapter 10, Old Lives to Leave Behind**

Darkness flooded the area for many moments.

"Harry?" Hermione squeaked from somewhere near his knees.

"Yeah?" He whispered. Speaking louder always seemed to lead to trouble.

"What are we going to do?" Ron asked from somewhere behind him.

"Oh, this is ridiculous!" Hermione finally snapped, Harry saw a spark of gold then she murmured, "_Lumos!_"

The tip of her wand lighted, illuminating a slim hallway with perfectly painted green walls. There were no doors to speak of except for the front door and no windows to be seen. There didn't seem to be any form of lights around the area either which puzzled Harry to no end.

"Wotcher Harry, Ron, Hermione. Now that's a bit better isn't it?"

They all froze. Who had said that?

"Calm down." the voice laughed, "It's just me." Suddenly a blaring light flooded into the dark abyss and they all flinched and covered their eyes. Hermione was the first one to pull her hands away from her contracting pupils. She blinked a few times and glanced around until her gaze fell upon a slight woman with dark green eyes and pitch black hair.

"Wotcher, would you like to tell me what you're doing on the floor?" Sage asked with a small tilted smile on her red lips as she helped Hermione up. She reached for Harry and Ron but they declined and instead decided to wobble on their feet as they stood up, their eyes still adjusting to the brightness of the once dim hall. Hermione surveyed Sage critically. She was rather tall, a little over Ron's height, and wore black dress pants and a silver off the shoulder top that accentuated the darkness of her hair. Her robe was an ink green color that matched her eyes almost perfectly and she wore a pair of heeled black boots. All in all she looked very professional, but you could see how young she was especially on her face. Ron and Harry started drooling almost immediately.

"We were trying to get away from some death eaters and, well, Mystic-" Hermione began trying to sound smooth but she was pretty confused herself.

"Mystic dropped this and we let ourselves in." Harry finished handing her the key. She took it and glanced at it before pressing it inside one of her pockets.

"We apologize for intruding." Hermione spoke almost immediately after him What were they _thinking_ just letting themselves in _someone else's house_? They didn't even know Sage!

"Ah. So that's where that tricky fiend has been." Sage grinned. "I have nearly ten letters for that sneaky owl to deliver now. But I suppose his disappearance was for the best." She paused, mused over something for a moment before calling lightly, "Mystic!"

The gray owl swooped in and dropped a lock of pink hair into Sage's outstretched hand.

"I don't understand your avid fascination with Tonks' hair." Sage smiled, shaking her head. The bird landed on her arm and cooed lightly, "Yes, I know it happens to be pink but if you pull anymore of her locks out she's going to be bald." Coo, coo, "Yes, yes, I know I asked for confirmation but-" Coo, coo, cooooo, "Alright, alright. I'm sorry about the misunderstanding. Just no more hair deliveries. I have enough to make a wig." Mystic gave them all a triumphant look before alighting upon Sage's head and grooming the various curly locks. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were speechless.

Sage grinned, "Come now. No need to stand in this uncomfortably tight hallway. I have dinner ready for you." And with that she walked off down the hall and disappeared through a door. They scrambled to follow after glancing at each other nervously.

Surprise immediately overtook them as they entered a large fabulous dining hall. The table at the center was beautifully laid with a gold table cloth and abound with food.

Sage was already sitting at the end of the table, nonchalantly sipping soup while fingering through some envelopes sitting next to her place. Sage looked up and laughed, "Come now, don't be shy! I've made enough for us all." before turning back to the apparently intriguing letter she was reading. They walked forward, Hermione admiring the perfectly painted walls with their unique and rather antique design. The boys were more focused on the various dishes placed around the long table. Soup was already placed in front of their respected places and they sat down, Hermione on Sage's right, Harry on her left and Ron next to him.

"I must admit the soup is very tasty. An old family recipe." Sage informed them rather distractedly as she finished the letter with a slight frown, but it disappeared as she reached the very end letting out a sigh of relief, "Glad that's all over." She commented, folding the parchment and slipping it back into its envelope. She was about to set it down when she smirked. "Why not?" She asked, not them it seemed, but more rhetorical, tossed it high into the air and pointed her wand at it.

It exploded in a shower of blue lights, almost like a fire work, but the spray was of little stars showing everywhere, not dotted tentacles. It was beautiful. "Tells you so much about a person's magic, the color of the explosion of their note." She commented absently, opening another in the hefty pile next to her.

"Bloody hell." Ron said shocked, his jaw dropping. Sage gave him an odd look before glancing at all three of them and said, in an exasperated tone, "Please, I know you're hungry. It's not poisoned. I promise." They just looked at her, "Would Tonks- no, would _Moody_- let you come if I couldn't be trusted?" She revised with a slight laugh.

Hermione smiled, "No, I suppose not. It's just rather...awkward. We don't know much about you..."

"Oh, my dear, before you leave you will know more than you would like. But for now, please, eat." Sage's smile was soft, but there was grimness behind it that made them rather uneasy. But, regardless, Hermione took a bite of the soup, "It's great." She complimented.

"Glad you think so." Sage grinned, flicking her attention to her guest for a moment before returning her gaze to the parchment she had flattened out on the table.

Suddenly an alarm sounded but Sage didn't even react. All three of them jumped, Harry spilling all the soup from his spoon onto his lap, "Not to worry!" Sage exclaimed, flicking her wand at his shirt. It dried immediately and the faint smell of violets reached their noses. She returned to her letter as they waited, the alarm getting louder and higher in frequency, finally she sighed, looked up from her letter about to stand up but stopped when a looking glass floated in flashing brightly. "I'm sorry. If this mirror doesn't freak out at least once every day it would worry me." She apologized with a wry smile. The glass stopped in front of her and with a very urgent look to it. She glanced at it, laughed, and told it, "You are rather late this time. I have already acknowledged their presence and have identified them as guests." The thing made a very 'hmph' -like sound and shut off it's alarm before floating away, it's frame held high.

"Crazy senile old piece of fogged up junk." She muttered rather jokingly shaking her head. She looked up with her piercing green eyes, "It was showing me you three. It's supposed to alert me to intruders right away but the thing's rather mental." She paused, "Have you finished you soup?" They nodded rather slowly, completely astonished. "Fantastic!" She grinned and immediately their bowls floated out of the room in a fanciful fashion, "On to the next course." She said nonchalantly, already immersed in her next letter. Knifes and forks flew from down the hall cutting up various things and standing around their plates. Sage nodded randomly as the knives and forks stopped in front of her. Suddenly she looked up and said, "Oh, I'm terribly sorry. If you want it just say yes or nod and it will set it down for you." She paused, "If you want more just say 'more'. Saying please also makes them a bit more compliant." Immediately after saying this she returned to her very pressing mail.

"Uhm...yes...no...yes please...no thank you...yes please." Hermione said oddly to the utensils offering her various things. In the end she had roasted turkey, mashed potatoes, and broccoli on her plate in healthy portions. Harry wasn't bad portion wise either, but Ron's plate was loaded with food and still coming, "How do I get them to stop!" He cried wildly as they started flinging food at him.

"I told you it would help if you said please." Sage grinned, "Please stop." She said slowly and articulately. "Thank you." She told the stationary utensils. "Please clean up your mess." Immediately the flying silverware speared itself some napkins and some tongs hauled up a pitcher of water. The mess was cleaned up before they could even follow what was happening, Ron's plate left with a large portion of food in their respected places on his plate.

"That's a neat trick." Harry commented weakly.

"You learn a few things over the years." She smiled slightly not looking up. She seemed like a very kind but very detached person as far as the three were concerned, but for the most part she was an interest and a high curiosity subject.

It was just then that Mystic flew in hooting urgently. Sage snapped up concerned. "What is it Mystic?" She asked tensely. It was then that Harry, Ron, and Hermione realized just how much she trusted and relied on her owl. How much a part of her life he was.

Mystic dropped the letter in her lap and hooted loudly, his dark brow furrowed. She instantly tore it open, read it once, read it again, and finally swore loudly. Mystic hooted again, this time an agitated squawk. "This isn't good." was all Sage said, but her voice cracked as tears welled in her eyes and ran down her cheeks, mascara running in black streaks. Then she looked up and said quietly, a sadness and a hardness filling her voice, "You-you have a right to know." She slid note to the middle of the table and Hermione snatched it. Harry and Ron scrambled around the table, yelling, "Hermione!"

Together they read the parchment, a dread looming over them. The writing was thick and faded with tears:

**_Sage, I'm sorry that I have to be the one to tell you this. It makes it all the harder. Some tragic things have been happening in just the past few hours, it had almost been like evil has been on a rampage. Hundreds have been killed. I know the three are with you at the moment, it is up to you if they should be told like this but...here goes. The Death Eaters, they swarmed everywhere, this began only a few minutes maybe a half an hour ago, right after I sent the three to you. We had no time to contact anyone else. Their were dementors and giants and...god help me...inferius. Among the injured were: Knightly, Mrs. Weasley, and Lupin. Ginny is not fairing well either, but we hope for a recovery, as of the moment she is in a coma. And Sage, there's something...else. There were a few...deaths. _**

The hand holding the pen became very unsteady at this point.

**_This might come as a shock. The deaths include...Hallie, honey, I am so sorry, I knew you two were close, I never knew her well, but now...now I wish I had known something about her. And...this one's going to hurt more...Moody. And that's not all...god I wish that was all...Charlie and Arthur Weasley. _**

**_Tonks. _**


End file.
